Consumers are taking advantage of the expanding convenience store food service options, many times at the expense of quick-service restaurants, according to recent research by food service research firm Technomic.
Of consumers polled on their most recent convenience store-food service purchase, 27% indicated that if they had not bought their meal from the convenience store in question, they would have purchased it from a fast-food restaurant. This number is nearly identical to those who said they would have ordered from another convenience store.
The survey also found more than 27% of consumers said they purchased an afternoon snack during their most recent visit, while 19% purchased lunch. Impulse buying plays a big role in convenience store foodservice purchases. More than 30% of convenience store food service consumers said that seeing an item, which triggered a craving, was the primary motivation for purchasing it.
The report was compiled using a nationally representative sample of 3,755 consumers and individual convenience store visits.
